Claire's Nightmare
by Lord Kristine
Summary: Claire has a nightmare.


Claire and Owen are sitting on a balcony that overlooks the sea. Everything is gold and warm, and there are glimmers of light everywhere. They kiss. Claire closes her eyes, but she can still see. She's happy.

Owen pulls away.

"Claire!"

"What?"

She looks down and gasps. Her hands are no longer hands. They're big, green feet. Owen falls backwards and crawls away frantically.

"Wait! Stop! I can explain!" Claire chokes.

"Help! There's a dinosaur up here!"

Claire shakes her head.

"No, no! I can change back! I can change! Just give me a second . . ."

She tries, but she can't. She's stuck.

Owen starts to run, but she catches his shirt in her mouth. He thrashes around in panic. She can feel the textured cotton rubbing on her tongue, making it burn. She can't speak with her mouth full, but she desperately tries to make Owen understand that she's not an animal, that she's still the same Claire. It doesn't work.

"HELP! HELP!"

Claire sees a helicopter overhead. She loosens her jaw almost imperceptibly, but it's enough to set him free. Owen's shirt slips from her beak, leaving her muzzle empty. She runs after him.

"Owen! Owen, come back!"

She chases him through dark corridors before reaching a tall, spiral staircase. She pauses. If she tries to step down, she'll fall. Animals like her can't walk down stairs.

She hears Owen's voice echoing through the chamber. She beats her plates rapidly, hoping to hover down the stairs. Her flight is chaotic. She goes too high, feels her stomach drop, and touches down. This bounding flight is too slow. Owen is getting away. She has to fly straight, or she'll lose him.

She is at the base of the stairs. She runs outside. The sea has been replaced with prairies, forests, and distant mountains. She calls out for Owen, but he does not reply. He's disappeared.

"Owen! Ow-"

She breaks into a moo. She covers her mouth, utterly horrified. Her bawling is loud enough to get the attention of her sister. She stares at Claire with horror.

"Oh my god . . ."

"Karen, don't run! It's still me!"

"I found her!"

"Karen-"

Men in body armor appear. Claire balks. They have guns.

She trumpets in terror and runs into the woods, but they are too quick for her. Her legs refuse to move any faster than honey dripping from a spoon. The men lasso her neck, then her hind leg, and pull her down violently. They think she's a threat. She has to explain to them that there's been a mistake, that she's not really a dinosaur. She opens her mouth, but all that comes out is a deep groan.

"Watch out. She's feral."

Claire tries to speak again, but this time, she lows loudly. One of the men lifts a taser. Claire kicks him in self defense, but he hits her with cords of electricity, and she jolts.

They put her in a zoo. Claire's back leg is chained to the wall, and there's a muzzle strapped around her snout. She cries, but no one seems to care. Children run up to her and start poking her all over the place, but she can't move. She tries to make a sound of distress, but she can't manage more than a hum.

Gray is in the crowd. He grabs at her nostril, but pauses. He recognizes her. He knows what she is. Claire looks up at him with pleading eyes. His mother is calling him. She silently wills him to ignore her and do something to help. Instead, he starts rubbing her snout.

"Now we can spend time together."

Claire growls. Is that all he can think about? She's a prisoner being abused by the people she loves, and he doesn't even care!

Without thinking, she tosses her head in fury. Her horn catches him on the temple, and he stumbles backwards a bit before keeling over. She's killed him. His mother runs over, sobbing hysterically. Claire backs away.

"I . . . I didn't mean to . . . It wasn't my fault . . ."

Karen points at her, clenching her teeth.

"MURDERER!"

Claire starts trembling.

"No! No! That's not who I am!"

It's too late. She's dragged away by security. They lock her in a barn. They fasten her limbs to the walls with more chains. She's immobilized from every angle. They leave.

"Help! There's been a mistake!" she cries, "I'm not an animal: I'm Claire Dearing!"

The door opens. It's Owen. Claire shakes with joy, rattling the metal that binds her to the walls.

"Owen, you came back!"

He ignores her, instead tugging on the chain holding her front horn.

"Do you have the key? . . ." she asks hopefully.

He does not.

He yanks a few more chains, and when he's sure they're secure, he stands in front of Claire with a solemn expression.

"I'm sorry it had to end this way, but you know what we do with animals that go wild."

Claire can't breathe.

"Owen, no . . ."

He pulls his rifle over his shoulder.

"I never thought it would happen to you, of all people, but there you go."

Her heart is pounding.

"Owen, please . . ."

He secures the bullets one by one with his thumb.

"I don't know how many it will take," he mumbles casually, "I've never dealt with your kind before."

Claire whimpers.

"I'm not a dinosaur . . . I'm not a dinosaur . . ."

He clicks the gun. Claire tenses up.

"Hold still. Let's make this quick, okay? I have to be back to work by noon."

Claire starts sobbing.

"Owen, don't do this to me! . . ."

He points the barrel at her forehead. As he takes aim, he mumbles something that breaks Claire's heart.

"It's too bad, really. I would have married you."

And then he pulls the trigger.


End file.
